NewsWrap for the 3 weeks ending January 5, 2002 (As broadcast on This Way Out program #719, distributed 1-7-02) [Written by Cindy Friedman, with thanks to Graham Underhill, Chris Ambidge, Brian Nunes, Jason Lin, Rex Wockner, Lucia Chappelle and Greg Gordon] Anchored by Dean Elzinga and Cindy Friedman The parliament of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais has given final approval to a civil rights bill protecting gays and lesbians. Governor Itamar Franco is expected to sign it into law. Member of Parliament Joao Batista de Oliveira's Law 694/99 would punish sexual orientation discrimination with fines, business closures, and in the case of civil servants, dismissal and disqualification. It specifically protects the right of gay and lesbian couples to demonstrate affection in public and provides for action against police officers who harass them. At least three other Brazilian states already prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. Civil rights protections are also advancing in the Philippines, as a bill won unanimous approval "in principle" from a committee of the House of Representatives in early December. House Bill 2784 is a comprehensive measure against discrimination based on real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, that was developed in collaboration with the Filipino group the Lesbian and Gay Legislative Advocacy Network. It would criminalize discrimination in areas including education, employment, medical care, and public accommodations. If passed, it would become the Philippines' first legislation for gay and lesbian civil rights. But in East Timor, 60% of the national parliament voted specifically to exclude "sexual orientation" from categories protected from discrimination under the young nation's draft constitution. During the mid-December debate in the Constituent Assembly, one member claimed that the only gays and lesbians in East Timor are foreigners, while another warned that protecting their civil rights would lead to "social chaos". The United Nations Transitional Authority now controlling the former Indonesian state will cede power to an independent East Timor government in May. In Jamaica, a government-appointed committee on civil rights reform recommended repeal of the nation's sodomy law. But a group of Roman Catholic bishops from throughout the Caribbean, known as the Bishops of the Antilles Episcopal Conference, immediately protested the proposal with a formal statement citing "the moral unacceptability of homosexual relations." In Egypt, the lone minor arrested in the notorious May police raid on a gay-friendly Cairo riverboat nightclub won a reduction of his sentence on appeal. Mahmoud Abdel Fatah had been sentenced in a youth court to three years' imprisonment for "debauchery," but an appeals court reduced that to the six months he had already served, plus six months' probation. Human rights groups still maintain that his conviction should have been overturned. 52 adults arrested in the May raid were tried in a national security court w hich offered no possibility of appeal for the 23 who were convicted and sentenced to 3 years' hard labor. Meanwhile, a misdemeanor court has convicted two male university students in Cairo of indecency, those charges stemming from their offering gay sex for money on a Web site. Each was sentenced to a year in jail. Saudi Arabia executed three men on New Year's Day, for what official sources described as "engaging in the extreme obscenity and ugly acts of homosexuality, marrying among themselves, seducing young men, and attacking those who rebuked them." Ali bin Hatan bin Saad, Mohammad bin Suleiman bin Mohammad, and Mohammad bin Khalil bin Abdullah were beheaded in the southwestern city of Abha for violating the nation's Islamic laws. There will an apology for three victims in a rare Chinese legal case of same-gender sexual harassment. In what's believed to be the first case of its kind in the southern state of Hainan, business owner Wang Guang was ordered to pay a token reparation and make an apology to three male migrant workers he kissed and fondled. Wang told the court he had believed those men to be gay, but one plaintiff said his wife divorced him and aborted their child after learning of the incidents. The U.S. Army last month issued a so-called "stop loss" order to suspend most administrative discharges but specifically excluded violations of the so-called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Similar orders had already been issued by the Air Force and the Navy in connection with the current U.S. military action in Afghanistan, but in the previous 50 years no "stop loss" order had ever excluded charges relating to homosexuality. Some experts believe that despite the wording of the orders, there will be a repeat of the pattern seen in the past of a decrease in "gay discharges" while combat continues and a sharp increase afterwards. Other recent developments out of Washington, DC affect gay and lesbian couples. President George W. Bush signed the bill for the capital city's annual federal funding, which this year omitted the long-standing rider prohibiting implementation of a broad domestic partners ordinance the city enacted a decade ago. While the federal funds may not be used to implement the ordinance, Washington's city government has said it can do so out of its other funds. But the U.S. Office of Personnel Management has acted to deny any expansion of family health care benefits for federal civil servants. This means that for the foreseeable future there will be no health insurance for the domestic partners of unmarried federal employees, including gays and lesbians. While activists were disappointed by the announcement, they were hardly surprised, since the Bush appointee heading the office, Kay Coles James, has played leadership roles in two anti-gay groups, Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council. And the U.S. Department of Justice has declared that gay and lesbian partners of victims of the September attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon can apply for federal compensation funds -- but whether they can actually receive them will depend on the probate laws of their states of residence. Probate laws in almost all the states do not recognize same-gender partners, although those who were explicitly named in victims' wills should qualify for aid. While there are likely to be complicated struggles for many of the estimated three dozen gay and lesbian survivors, at least one activist saw it as a landmark advance that the Justice Department regulations did not explicitly restrict compensation to legal spouses and blood relatives. Federal awards to survivors are expected to average more than one-and-a-half million dollars. Massachusetts' Republican Acting Governor Jane Swift vocally opposes equal marriage rights for same-gender couples, but this week she became the first sitting U.S. governor ever to choose an open gay or lesbian to be her running mate. He's Patrick Guerriero, currently serving on staff in Swift's administration, formerly a state Representative and Mayor of Melrose, and a vocal advocate for gay and lesbian civil rights. At least two others rejected Swift's invitations to run with her in November -- when the ballot will probably also feature a proposed amendment to the state constitution to restrict legal marriage to heterosexual couples. Despite Swift's selection, Guerriero will still have to win a primary election to become the Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor. In Norway, openly gay Conservative Member of Parliament Per-Kristian Foss has been appointed Minister of Finance, the third-highest post in the nation. Long-time politico Foss publicly identified himself as a gay man only a year ago, in the course of his successful bid to chair the Oslo branch of his party. New Zealand's biggest lesbigay event, Auckland's annual HERO parade, will be replaced by a scaled-down pride march next month because of money problems. It's the second consecutive year the traditional event had to be skipped due to debts from past festivals. Organizers are hopeful for its resurrection in 2003. Even Australia's huge Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras had to win a bailout from the state of New South Wales to go on as scheduled this year. But there's JOY in Melbourne, as JOY Melbourne has become the nation's first gay and lesbian radio station to win a full-time community broadcasting license from the Australian Broadcasting Authority. 160 volunteers have run the station off-and-on with a series of temporary licenses since 1993. The end of the year also brought the end of two highly visible gay lives. Lance Loud may have been the first gay man to come out to his family on U.S. television. The pioneering 1973 PBS documentary series "An American Family" followed 7 months in the daily lives of the Loud family, and then-20-year-old Lance revealed his orientation to them in front of the cameras. A journalist, musician, and actor, he died at age 50 of hepatitis C after a long struggle with AIDS. Award-winning British actor Nigel Hawthorne died of a heart attack at the age of 72. Outside the UK Hawthorne was best known for his Oscar-nominated lead in the film "The Madness of King George", but in Britain he was widely recognized for his role in the TV series "Yes, Minister". He also won top awards in both the U.S. and UK for his work on the stage. He's survived by his partner Trevor Bentham. In happier entertainment news from Britain, lesbian actress Miriam Margolyes appeared on the annual New Year's honors list to receive the Order of the British Empire. The 60-year-old BAFTA-winning character actress was seen in the film "Cats and Dogs" and will appear in the next "Harry Potter" movie as Professor Sprout. And finally... openly gay British actor Sir Ian McKellen is making a worldwide splash for his role as Gandalf in "Lord of the Rings". Not only does his character likeness appear on Burger King cups -- he and non-gay co-star Christopher Lee are currently appearing on 40-cent stamps in New Zealand, where much of the film was shot. McKellen said gleeefully last month, "There's not many people alive that are on a stamp... Everyone sending me a Christmas card from New Zealand is going to lick our backsides and then press us down. Can you believe that?"